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Aztec Gods
Gods/Goddesses :;Atlaua ::In Aztec mythology, Atlahua (“deity of the waters”) was a water god, protector of fishermen and archers. There were said to be at least 4 ancient Aztec temples at which he was worshiped, the tallest supposedly being over 200 feet tall. The Aztecs prayed to him when there were deaths in water. Alternative: Atlahoa, Ahtlahua, Atlaua. :;Chalchuihtlicue ::Chalchiuhtlicue (also Chalciuhtlicue, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") was an Aztec goddess of love, beauty, youth, lakes, rivers, seas, streams, horizontal waters, storms, and baptism. ::Chalchiuitlicue's name means "She Who Wears a Jade Skirt". She was also known as Matlalcueye—"She Who Wears a Green Skirt". This goddess was the wife (in some myths, sister) of the rain god, Tlaloc. Like other water deities, she was often associated with serpents. She was the mother of Tecciztecatl, an Aztec moon god. He was called "he who comes from the land of the sea-slug shell" because of the similarity between the moon and the slug. Tecciztecatl was portrayed as an old man who carries a large white seashell on his back. ::For the Aztecs, Chalchiuhtlicue was the water goddess who was a personification of youthful beauty and ardor. She was represented as a river from which grew a prickly pear cactus laden with fruit, symbolizing the human heart. ::In the Aztec creation myth of the Five Suns, Chalchiuhtlicue presided over the fourth sun, or creation, in her aspect as goddess of streams and standing water. This world—in the mythology, the world preceding the current (fifth) one—was destroyed by a great flood and its people transformed into fish. :;Chantico ::Fiery and volatile goddess Chantico is a very dangerous goddess who tended the fireplace in homes and controlled the destructive volcanic blasts. She is a goddess of treasure and those who dare touch hers meet swift yet painful death. Her symbol was her red serpent, a representation of the volcano while her crown of thorns(?) represented the dual nature of pain and pleasure. ::She hates the god of sustenance, Tonatecuhtli for transforming her into a dog after breaking the rules by eating the sacred spice. :;Chicomecoatl ::In Aztec mythology, Chicomecoatl "Seven snakes", was the Aztec goddess of agriculture during the Middle Culture period. She is sometimes called "goddess of nourishment", a goddess of plenty and the female aspect of corn. ::She often appeared with attributes of Chalchiuhtlicue, such as her headdress and the short lines rubbing down her cheeks. She is usually distinguished by being shown carrying ears of maize. :;Coatlicue ::Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan (also transcribed Teteo Inan), "The Mother of Gods", is the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. She is also known as Toci (Tocî, "our grandmother") and Cihuacoatl (Cihuācōhuātl, "the lady of the serpent"), the patron of women who die in childbirth. ::She is represented as a woman wearing a skirt of writhing snakes and a necklace made of human hearts, hands, and skulls. Her feet and hands are adorned with claws and her breasts are depicted as hanging flaccid from pregnancy. Her face is formed by two facing serpents (after her head was cut off and the blood spurt forth from her neck in the form of two gigantic serpents), referring to the myth that she was sacrificed during the beginning of the present creation. ::Most Aztec artistic representations of this goddess emphasize her deadly side, because of the Earth, as well as a loving mother, is the insatiable monster that consumes everything that lives. She represents the devouring mother, in whom both the womb and the grave exist. :;Coyolxauhqui ::Coyolxauhqui ("Face painted with Bells") was a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue because Coatlicue had become pregnant. ::The pregnancy of Coatlicue, the maternal Earth deity, made her other children embarrassed, including her oldest daughter Coyolxauhqui. As she swept the temple, a few hummingbird feathers fell into her chest. Coatlicue’s child, Huitzilopochtli, sprang from her womb in full war armor and killed Coyolxauhqui, along with their 400 brothers and sisters. He cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night. ::Coyolxauhqui’s celestial associations are not limited to the moon. Other scholars believe that she should be understood as the Goddess of the Milky Way, or be associated with patterns of stars associated with Huitzilopochtli. :;Huehuecoyotl ::In Aztec mythology, Huehuecóyotl (náhuatl "Very old coyote") is the auspicious god of music, dance and song of ancient Mexico. He is depicted in the Codex Borbonicus as a dancing coyote with human hands and feet, accompanied by a human drummer. The name "Very old coyote" conveyed positive meanings for the Aztec populace; coyotes were an Aztec symbol of astuteness and worldly-wisdom, pragmatism and male beauty and youthfulness. The prefix "huehue" which in Nahuatl means "very old" was attached to gods in Aztec mythology that were revered for their old age, wisdom, philosophical insights and connections to the divine. Although often appearing in stories as male, Huehuecóyotl can be gender changing, as many of the offspring of Tezcatlipoca. He can be associated with indulgence, male sexuality, good luck and story-telling. One of his prominent female lovers was Temazcal Teci (also Temaxcaltechi), the goddess of bathing and sweat baths (temazcalli), also known as Mexican sauna and Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love, beauty, female sexuality, prostitutes, flowers and young mothers. His male lovers included Opochtli, the left-handed god of trapping, hunting and fishing and Xochipilli, the god of art and games and the patron of homosexuals. ::As all Aztec deities, Huehuecóyotl was dualistic in his exercise of good and evil. He was perceived as a balanced god; depictions of his dark side include a coyote appearance (non-human) with black or yellow feathers, as opposed to the customary green feathers. ::Stories derived from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis make him a benign prankster, whose tricks are often played on other gods or even humans but tended to backfire and cause more trouble for himself than the intended victims. A great party-giver, he also was alleged to foment wars between humans to relieve his boredom. He is a part of the Tezcatlipoca (Smoky Mirror) family of the Mexica gods and has their shapeshifting powers. ::Those who had indications of evil fates from other gods would sometimes appeal to Huehuecóyotl to mitigate or reverse their fate. Huehuecóyotl shares many characteristics with the trickster Coyote of the North American tribes, including storytelling and choral singing. ::The fourth day of the thirteen-day Mexican week belonged to Huehuecóyotl. He was the only friend to Xolotl who is the god of twins, sickness, and deformity and accompanies the dead to Mictlan (the underworld of Aztec mythology). Their association is born from the canine nature of both gods. :;Huitzilopochtli ::Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli was a god of war, sun and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan. ::Huitzilopochtli's mother was Coatlicue, and his father was (or, alternatively, Mixcoatl). His sister was Malinalxochitl, a beautiful sorceress, who was also his rival. His messenger or impersonator was Paynal. ::His sister, Coyolxauhqui, tried to kill their mother because she became pregnant in a shameful way (by a ball of feathers). Her offspring, Huitzilopochtli, learned of this plan while still in the womb, and before it was put into action, sprang from his mother's womb fully grown and fully armed. He then killed his sister Coyolxauhqui and many of his 400 brothers. He tossed his sister's head into the sky, where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night. He threw his other brothers and sisters into the sky, where they became the stars. :;Itztlacoliuhqui ::The god of frost and of the obsidian blade, he was once a beautiful and handsome dawn god, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli until Tonatiuh came along. The sun god refused to be moved by the god of dawn and ordered sacrifices. Demanding sacrifices with such arrogance, the god of dawn fired an arrow into Tonatiuh. The sun god deflected the blow and fired the arrow back in interest to see what would happen. The god was turned into stone when struck. From then on, he was transformed into a god of frost, justice, punishment and human misery. Itztlacoliuhqui presides over crop-killing, frost and blinded justice. :;Itzpapalotl ::Itzpapalotl was a fearsome skeletal warrior goddess who ruled over the paradise world of Tamoanchan, the paradise identified where humans were created. ::Itzpapalotl's name can either mean "obsidian butterfly" or "clawed butterfly", the latter meaning seems most likely. It's quite possible that clawed butterfly refers to the bat and in some instances, Itzpapalotl is depicted with bat wings. However, she can also appear with clear butterfly or eagle attributes. Her wings are obsidian or tecpatl (flint) knife tipped. She could appear in the form of a beautiful, seductive woman or terrible goddess with a skeletal head and butterfly wings supplied with stone blades. ::As the legend goes, Itzpapalotl fell from heaven along with Tzitzimime and several other shapes such as scorpions and toads. Itzpapalotl wore an invisible cloak so that no one could see her. At some times, she was said to have dressed up like a lady of the Mexican Court, caking her face with white powder and lining her cheeks with strips of rubber. Her fingers tapered into the claws of a jaguar, and her toes into eagle's claws. :;Malinalxochi ::The pest repelling desert goddess. She has power over stingy, bitey creatures without any nasty chemicals or sprays. This is always handy. Especially in the desert. ::She was one of the surviving Centzon Huitznahuas, the four hundred southern stars after Huitzilopochtli went on a murderous rampage against them. (Long story) The goddess in revenge followed the war god as he guided the Aztecs to their motherland. ::The god eventually heard of Malinalxochi and took all of her clothes when she bathed to stop her from following them. She then gave birth to Copil with a mortal. Copil decided to manipulate the locals into believing in his vicious rumors about the Aztecs resulting in their hostility for them. :;Mayahuel ::Mayahuel is the female divinity associated with the maguey plant (agave) among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology, and in particular of the Aztec cultures. As the personification of the maguey plant, Mayahuel was also part of a complex of interrelated maternal and fertility goddesses in Aztec mythology and is also connected with notions of fecundity and nourishment. She was also the goddess of alcohol as the Aztecs made the drink, pulque out of the agave. :;Mictlantecuhtli ::Mictlantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld. ::His headdress was shown decorated with owl feathers and paper banners, and he wore a necklace of human eyeballs, while his earspools were made from human bones.He was not the only Aztec god to be depicted in this fashion, as numerous other deities had skulls for heads or else wore clothing or decorations that incorporated bones and skulls. In the Aztec world, skeletal imagery was a symbol of fertility, health and abundance, alluding to the close symbolic links between death and life. He was often depicted wearing sandals as a symbol of his high rank as Lord of Mictlan. His arms were frequently depicted raised in an aggressive gesture, showing that he was ready to tear apart the dead as they entered his presence. In the Aztec codices Mictlantecuhtli is often depicted with his skeletal jaw open to receive the stars that descend into him during the daytime. :;Mixcoatl ::Mixcoatl or Camaxtli was the god of the hunt and identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. He was the patron deity of the Otomi, the Chichimecs, and several groups that claimed descent from the Chichimecs. While Mixcoatl was part of the Aztec pantheon, his role was less important than that of Huitzilopochtli, who was their central deity. ::In one story, Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into Mixcoatl and invented the fire drill by revolving the heavens around their axes, bringing fire to humanity. Along with this cosmic fire drill, Mixcoatl was the first to strike fire with flint. These events made Mixcoatl a god of the milky way, along with war, and the hunt. ::Mixcoatl was also related to 400 more gods, the Centzonmimixcoa, whom, together with his 3 brothers and their sister, he slew by ambush. Mixcoatl was also thought of as being the father of another important deity, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. ::Mixcoatl can be easily distinguished by his hunting gear (bow and arrows) and his bag of games. :;Oxomoco ::Oxomoco is an Aztec deity, the goddess of astrology and the calender. Oxomoco and Cipactonal were said to be the first human couple and the Aztec comparison to Adam and Eve in regards to human creation and evolution. ::They bore a son named Piltzin-tecuhtli, who married a maiden, daughter of Xochiquetzal. As an older woman she was also known as Itzpapalotl. :;Plitzintecuhtli ::In Aztec mythology, Piltzintecuhtli was a god of the rising sun, healing, and visions, associated with Tonatiuh. The name means "the Young Prince". It may have been another name for Tonatiuh, but he is also mentioned as a possibly unique individual, the husband of Xochiquetzal. He was the lord of the third hour of the night. Piltzintecuhtli was said to be the son of Oxomoco and Cipactonal (the first man and woman that were created) and was seen as a protector of children. He was identified as the Youthful Sun. ::Known also as "7 Flower," he was also a god of hallucinatory plants, including mushrooms. He was considered the father of Centeotl, a deity who was sacrificed in order to bring forth plants. :;Quetzalcoatl ::Quetzalcoatl was related to gods of the wind, of Venus, of the dawn, of merchants and of arts, crafts and knowledge. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, of learning and knowledge. He is one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, he was often considered the god of the morning star, and his twin brother Xolotl was the evening star (Venus). As the morning star he was known by the title Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, meaning "lord of the star of the dawn." He was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, the giver of maize (corn) to mankind, and sometimes as a symbol of death and resurrection. Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the twin Aztec high priests. ::He was also a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of Mankind. He also had anthropomorphic forms, for example in his aspects as Ehecatl the wind god. :;Tepeyollotl ::In Aztec mythology, Tepeyollotl ("heart of the mountains"; also Tepeyollotli) was the god of earthquakes, echoes, and jaguars. He is the god of the Eighth Hour of the Night and is depicted as a jaguar leaping towards the sun. :;Tezcatlipoca ::Tezcatlipoca is the god of the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war, and strife. His name in the Nahuatl language is often translated as "Smoking Mirror" and alludes to his connection to obsidian, the material from which mirrors were made in Mesoamerica and which was used for shamanic rituals. ::In one of the Aztec accounts of creation, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. Before their act, there was only the sea and the crocodilian earth monster called Cipactli. To attract her, Tezcatlipoca used his foot as bait, and Cipactli ate it. The two gods then captured her and distorted her to make the land from her body. After that, they created the people, and people had to offer sacrifices to comfort Cipactli for her sufferings. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca is depicted with a missing foot. ::Another story of creation goes that Tezcatlipoca turned himself into the sun, but Quetzalcoatl couldn’t bear his enemy ruling the universe, so he knocked Tezcatlipoca out of the sky. Angered, Tezcatlipoca turned into a jaguar and destroyed the world. Quetzalcoatl replaced him and started the second age of the world and it became populated again. Tezcatlipoca overthrew Quetzalcoatl when he sent a great wind that devastated the world, and what people who survived were turned into monkeys. Tlaloc, the god of rain, became the sun, but Quetzalcoatl sent down fire which destroyed the world again, except for a few humans who survived who were turned into birds. Chalchihuitlicue the Water Goddess became the sun, but the world was destroyed by floods, with what people survived being turned into fish. ::Tezcatlipoca also uses sorcery and cunning to exact His will, in addition to warrior might. He is also a princely god, a patron of the nobility. However, He was also the patron of slaves, who were considered His "beloved children." Those who treated their slaves poorly were punished by Him. :;Tlaloc ::Tlaloc was an important deity in Aztec religion, a god of rain, fertility, and water. He was a beneficent god who gave life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. In Aztec iconography, he is usually depicted with goggle eyes and fangs. He was associated with caves, springs, and mountains. ::Tlaloc was first married to Xochiquetzal, a goddess of flowers, but then Tezcatlipoca kidnapped her. He later married the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue, "She of the Jade Skirt". In Aztec mythic cosmography, Tlaloc ruled the fourth layer of the 'Upper World", or heavens, which is called Tlalocan ("place of Tlaloc") in several Aztec codices, such as the Vaticanus A and Florentine codices. Described as a place of unending Springtime and a paradise of green plants, Tlalocan was the destination in the afterlife for those who died violently from phenomena associated with water, such as by lightning, drowning and water-borne diseases. ::With Chalchiuhtlicue, he was the father of Tecciztecatl. He had an older sister named Huixtocihuatl. He ruled over the third of the five worlds in Aztec belief. :;Tlazolteotl ::Goddess of desires and lust, Tlazolteotl is (like all Aztec gods) a walking paradox. It was she who tempts people into sins and emotional ruins and punish them but also purifies those worthy enough. ::According to Aztec belief, it was Tlazolteotl who inspired vicious desires, and who likewise forgave and cleaned away the defilement of sin. She was also thought to cause disease, especially sexually transmitted disease. It was said that Tlazolteotl and her companions would afflict people with a disease if they indulged themselves in forbidden love. The uncleanliness was considered both on a physical and moral level; and could be cured by steam-bath, a rite of purification, or calling upon Tlazolteteo, the goddesses of love and desires. :;Toci ::Toci ("Our grandmother" in Nahuatl ) is a deity figuring prominently in the religion and mythology of the pre-Columbian Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica. In Aztec mythology she is attributed as the "Mother of the Gods" (Teteo Innan or Teteoinnan), and associated as a Mother goddess (also called Tlalli Iyollo, "Heart of the Earth").Although considered to be an aged deity, Toci is not always shown with specific markers of great age. Toci is frequently depicted with black markings around the mouth and nose, wearing a headdress with cotton spools. These are also characteristic motifs for Tlazolteotl, a central Mesoamerican goddess of both purification and filth (tlazolli in Nahuatl), and the two deities are closely identified with one another.Toci also had identification with war and was venerated in the name of "Lady of Strife".Toci was also associated with healing, and venerated by curers of ailments and midwifes. In the 16th century Florentine Codex compiled by Bernardino de Sahagún Toci is identified with temazcalli or sweatbaths, in which aspect she is sometimes termed Temazcalteci, or "Grandmother of sweatbaths". Tlazolteotl also has an association with temazcalli as the "eater of filth", and such bathhouses are likely to have been dedicated to either Tlazolteotl or Toci/Temazcalteci. ::Toci does not have any children. Instead, she is accompanied by a group of warrior priestesses known as "The Warriors of Toci". They reside in the The Temple of Toci. :;Tonatiuh ::In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh (Nahuatl: Ollin Tonatiuh "Movement of the Sun") was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky. :;Xipe Totec ::Xipe Totec is the god of agriculture, vegetation, spring, smiths and seasons. The god is a benevolent deity with a fearsome aspect: to him have the skin flayed from their bones whole, and his priests mimic him by wearing the skins over their own as if clothed in the sacrifice's very body. Xipe Totec flayed himself so that he could bring maize seeds to humanity and allow the earth to bring food. He was the god of rebirth and renewal of the seasons. The Flayed One does not have a skin of his own so his followers flay a carefully-chosen sacrifice to do so. :;Xiuhtecuhtli ::Xiuhtecuhtli ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"), was the god of fire, day and heat. He was the lord of volcanoes, the personification of life after death, warmth in cold (fire), light in darkness and food during famine. He was also named Cuezaltzin ("flame") and Ixcozauhqui, and is sometimes considered to be the same as Huehueteotl ("Old God"), although Xiuhtecuhtli is usually shown as a young deity. Xiuhtecuhtli is a manifestation of Ometecuhtli, the Lord of Duality, and according to the Florentine Codex Xiuhtecuhtli was considered to be mother and father of the Gods, who dwelled in the turquoise enclosure in the center of earth. :;Xochipilli ::Xochipilli was the god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, and song in Aztec mythology. His name contains the Nahuatl words xochitl ("flower") and pilli (either "prince" or "child") and hence means "flower prince". As the patron of writing and painting, he was called Chicomexochitl "Seven-flower", but he could also be referred to as Macuilxochitl "Five-flower". His wife was the human girl Mayahuel. Xochipilli corresponds to the Tonsured Maize God among the Classic Mayas. Xochipilli was also the patron of homosexuals. :;Xochiquetzal ::Xochiquetzal was a goddess associated with concepts of fertility, beauty, and female sexual power, serving as a protector of young mothers and a patroness of pregnancy, childbirth, and the crafts practiced by women such as weaving and embroidery. ::Xochiquetzal is always depicted as an alluring and youthful woman, richly attired and symbolically associated with vegetation and in particular flowers. By connotation, Xochiquetzal is also representative of human desire, pleasure, and excess. Invoke Ichpuchtli for beauty, sensuality, survival, crafts, fertility, childbirth, agriculture, dance, music, singing, repopulation, flower magic, sexual freedom, love spells, knot magic, sexual pleasure, sex magic, and a fruitful marriage. Feathers, marigolds, and small earthenware images of her are appropriate offerings to Ichpuchtli. :;Xolotl ::The god of lightning and Venus, he is Quetzalcoatl’s diseased and ugly twin. The dog-headed god is a psychopomp, the god who guides the soul of normal people to Mictlan. He was involved in Quetzalcoatl’s quest to take bones of the undead back to the surface world. Xolotl somehow was trapped and became a psychopomp to Mictlantecuhtli. Xolotl helps the sun on its nightly journey in the underworld. :;Yacatecuhtli ::The god of travelers, merchants, and commerce, Yacatecuhtli was the protector of Pochtecas, the merchants. The merchants would place an effigy of the god from walking sticks and in turn, Yacatecuhtli would protect their precious goods from thieves. His symbol was the cross in order to represent the roads that the merchands travel. His other name, Zacazontli (the god of roads) was usually invoked. Monsters Naguals Ahuizotl Cipactli Cihuateteo Frog Warriors (Cueyatl) Omen Owls (Teuzauhtototl) Tzitzimitl The Centzon Totochtin (Four-Hundred Rabbits) The Centzon Mimixcoa (Four-Hundred Cloud Serpents) Ahuiateteo Chaneque tlemóyotl amoxoaque ixpuxtequi chalchiuhtecólotl aluxes oxkokoltzec mazacóalt omecuaime tlahuelpochime DZULÚM Dtundtuncan camazotz yoaltepoztli xiuhcóatl ateponaztli alicante azcált atlanchane chocacihuatl xochitonal xochicalcatl huehueytin atzitzicuílotl Quatézcatl quinametzin cachinipa tlacacóyotl Myths :;Creation Myth ::According to legend, when the Mexicas arrived in the Anahuac valley around Lake Texcoco, they were considered by the other groups as the least civilized of all, but the Mexica/Aztec decided to learn, and they took all they could from other people, especially from the ancient Toltec (whom they seem to have partially confused with the more ancient civilization of Teotihuacan). To the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of all culture; "Toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Aztec legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with the legendary city of Tollan, which they also identified with the more ancient Teotihuacan. ::Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions with their own earlier traditions, they had several creation myths. One of these, the Five Suns describes four great ages preceding the present world, each of which ended in a catastrophe, and "were named in function of the force or divine element that violently put an end to each one of them".2 Coatlicue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua ("Four Hundred Southerners"), her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in her waistband, becoming pregnant with Huitzilopochtli. Her other children became suspicious as to the identity of the father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount Coatepec, pursued by her children, but the newborn Huitzilopochtli defeated most of his brothers, who became the stars. He also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out her heart using a Xiuhcoatl (a blue snake) and throwing her body down the mountain. This was said to inspire the Aztecs to rip the hearts out of their victims and throw their bodies down the sides of the temple dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, who represents the sun chasing away the stars at dawn. ::Our age (Nahui-Ollin), the fifth age, or fifth creation, began in the ancient city of Teotihuacanneeded. According to the myth, all the gods had gathered to sacrifice themselves and create a new age. Although the world and the sun had already been created, it would only be through their sacrifice that the sun would be set into motion and time as well as history could begin. The most handsome and strongest of the gods, Tecuciztecatl, was supposed to sacrifice himself but when it came time to self-immolate, he could not jump into the fire. Instead, Nanahuatl the smallest and humblest of the gods, who was also covered in boils, sacrificed himself first and jumped into the flames. The sun was set into motion with his sacrifice and time began. Humiliated by Nanahuatl's sacrifice, Tecuciztecatl too leaped into the fire and became the moon. Category:Aztec